Bumblebees

To qualify, children must be at least 18 months and no older than 2½ by July 31st. Tuition is $149 / Month. Bumblebees meet every Monday and Wednesday from 9:30 to 11:30 AM.

What do bumblebees learn?

The Bumblebees are just beginning to explore their worlds. Through creative play, exposure to music, art and new experiences they quickly learn about their environment and how to interact with other children and adults. Our Bumblebees class emphasizes unstructured play -- giving children the room they need to engage in activities that interest and stimulate them and learn at their own pace. Our teachers and parents help guide them as they explore and learn

Daily Class Schedule

Kids Enter!

Activities:

Wash hands

Teacher and working parents help with transitions

Children play and greet each other

Parents who are leaving, leave by 9:45

Please note: (if your child is not ready, you are welcome to stay for the remainder of the day even if it is not your work day. We welcome the extra set of hands! If you do decide to leave it’s best to do this in a timely manner (by 9:45 ish) as prolonged transitions evoke anxiety in many children. The teacher will be available to help you design a transition plan that feels good to both you and your child)

playdough—another tactile experience that starts to work not only their imagination, but also their growing fine motor muscles

dramatic play—kitchen & props, dress-up capes, building houses or boats out of blocks, pretending to be animals, the list goes on…

blocks & building—a toddler feels quite powerful lifting and moving the big hollow blocks we have in our classroom. Their imagination is stretched when we add props to the blocks, placing animals inside block shelters, driving cars into the driveways we just built. We will hear the frequent “timber!” as the “builder” turns “condemner” and watches delightedly as his/her work of art crashes to the floor. After all, the experiment with cause and effect is far more important to the toddler’s development than is the final building product!

Playing with Pet Turtle—we frequently take out the turtle and place him in a large tub so that the children can observe and ask questions. We practice touching him with one finger gently.

Reading books—Oftentimes a child needs the comfort of a lap and a book and there are always parents or a teacher available to read in the rocker or on the couch.

Manipulatives—There will be ample supply of cause and effect toys, in and out toys, building toys, and rolling toys available to explore.

Snack—snack is available throughout choice time in the kitchen

Clean up

Parents solicit help from toddlers. Working parents will be making a point to pre-clean so that this final cleaning is not too big.

Circle

Music and movement/ story

Outside time at Lakewood playground

Walk across the street to the local playground and play on swings, sandbox, and play structures.

Goodbye Circle (quick song)

Teacher is available to talk to parents as they come pick up their child.

From Katie Vos

Bumblebees Teacher

It is great fun to be a teacher! I began with camps and ski school in high school and college, followed with work for a terrific Inclusive Schools Research Project after college. I returned for my Masters in Teaching at Seattle University, then taught fifth and sixth grade for six years in the Lake Washington School District. Once my first daughter was born, I left the elementary classroom and taught seminars for teachers in the area of math instruction. As I went on to experience my two daughters' growth and development I found myself irresistibly drawn into teaching at the preschool level.

The energy and sincerity of the kids is just unbeatable! 

— Katie Vos, Bumblebees Teacher

Much of what I've learned in teaching older learners transfers well to the preschool classroom; the planning, individualizing, managing behavior, and much more. It is exciting to work together with children and their families in the preschool classroom. It is full of change and often surprise, and therefore, lots of learning. I enjoy doing this among the committed and supportive people at our co- op. I hope your expectation will also be that there is room for you to learn among the children, parents, and others that make up this community.

Teaching Philosophy

I believe the preschool years are so critical for children in establishing their norms and expectations about relationships, their sense of self and emotional literacy, and their orientation toward learning. The first and foremost vehicle for all their learning at preschool should be through simple play. Whether make-believe or messy, gooey exploration, kids experiences in play and in their interactions surrounding that play make their learning meaningful to them. My role as teacher, as I see it, is to build relationships with and among the students, and to see that their play is rich and rewarding. I believe that by making thoughtful, deliberate decisions about classroom activities and conversations, our kids will become more and more skilled as thinkers, problem-solvers, lovers-of-learning, and in their relationships with family and friends.